Fans of Scary Spice have been granted a rare opportunity to peek behind the scenes at the home life of Mel B.
The place she's called home for the past year has just gone up for sale, and you know we wanted to have a nosy at how the other half lives.
A Leeds lass herself, she rented Kings Lea for a year when she returned to Yorkshire after leaving her abusive ex-husband Stephen Belafonte.
Now she's upped sticks, giving fans the chance to look at her old pad and imagine the life she lives when she's off duty.
One of the reception rooms inside Mel B's former house
The five-bedroom, four-bathroom property off Smithy Land is now up for sale - and images online
The striking residence boasts a large pond within its stunning 1.6-acre grounds and spans a whopping 4,600 square feet inside.
Priced at a cool £1.4 million for the asking price, the huge house is set among acres of green belt between Bramhope, Cookridge and Horsforth and accessed via a private road close to Cookridge cricket club.
It is one of two detached luxury homes which are accessed initially from a shared private drive way which then splits off to the two private residences.
The property from the front, lit up at night
From the front, the expansive property is reminiscent of a modern American-style home: painted all in white, with an ornamental verandah. Set back from the road, it's well hidden and guarantees a good degree of privacy - something clearly valued by its former occupant.
Downstairs, there are four large reception rooms and a large high-spec kitchen/living/dining room with bi-folding doors that lead out onto a southern-facing sun trap terrace overlooking the grounds - one of several at the property.
Impressive mod cons inside include a Gaggenou indoor BBQ, a built-in aquarium and a log burning fire.
Upstairs, there are five large double rooms but Mel's old master suite is the most impressive: complete with walk-in wardrobe, gym/study, and a gorgeous en suite with walk-in shower and freestanding bath.
Better yet, the master bedroom also has a built-in Bose sound system and access to an elevated private terrace overlooking the grounds.
The master bedroom boasts a large en suite, gym, walk-in wardrobe and private roof terrace
The house bathroom, meanwhile, features another large walk-in shower and jacuzzi bathtub.
Just to sweeten the deal, all the bathrooms have underfloor heating too - no getting your toes cold here.
Elsewhere, there's a double garage with electric roller shutters and large hallway, downstairs WC and ground floor office space.
Viewings are being taken by appointment only from 3rd July. To view the full listing, click here.
Leeds
No Greek Tragedy, just indie bangers – The Wombats set Leeds’ First Direct Arena alight
The Wombats aren’t just still going strong - they’re getting better. And honestly? Long may they reign.
The Wombats absolutely tore the roof off the First Direct Arena in Leeds last night, Wednesday 26 March and what a night it was.
From the second they hit the stage it wasn’t just a gig, it was a full-blown indie-pop spectacle, packed with infectious energy, nostalgia, and a whole lot of dancing.
They kicked things off with “Moving to New York,” and honestly? The crowd was in from the first note.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Matthew Murphy’s unmistakable vocals rang through the arena and suddenly, thousands of people were screaming every lyric like it was 2007 all over again. It was one of those moments where you could just feel how much this band still means to people.
Despite the massive venue, The Wombats somehow made it feel intimate. The lights? Pure chaos in the best way - vibrant, colourful, and totally in sync with the band’s wild, bouncy sound.
Murphy’s cheeky banter between songs made it feel less like a polished arena show and more like a jam session with a few thousand of your closest mates.
Setlist-wise, they nailed it. “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” and “Greek Tragedy” had the whole place losing it, while the stripped-down version of “Techno Fan” gave everyone a minute to breathe (and maybe get a little emotional).
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Those quieter moments just made the high-energy choruses hit even harder. It was a rollercoaster - in the best way possible.
Then came the encore. If you thought the crowd was loud before, “Kill the Director” took things to another level. Pure, chaotic indie bliss. The kind of moment you don’t want to end.
Here’s the thing about The Wombats: some might say their older songs hit harder than their newer stuff, but is that just nostalgia talking? Or maybe it’s a generational thing?
Either way, they proved they’re still one of the most exciting live bands out there. They’ve still got the hooks, the humour, and the ability to turn a massive arena into a sweaty, euphoric singalong.
Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as cheeky
Danny Jones
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Georgina Pellant -
21st June 2021 
